De-centring the Studio: Walking as a Critical Pedagogic Tool. Drawing on practice-based case studies and student voices, exploring how walking can function as a critical and de-centring pedagogic tool in art and design education.

The studio is the art school’s defining pedagogic space; what happens when we step outside? This presentation explores how walking, an everyday act, can function as a critical pedagogic tool that repositions dialogue fosters curiosity, and invites reflection. Drawing on a published case study with Year 3 Interior Design students, I reflect on a structured paired-walking activity shaped by art walking practices and musical scores. Using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, I share how students engaged with movement, informality, and place to encounter ideas differently and some challenges. The findings highlight the pedagogic value of unpredictability, detour, and embodied learning. I will show how learners activated walking as a mode of engagement, prompting reflection on the fixed nature of the studio and how curriculum and learning can be purposefully entangled. What new possibilities emerge when learning becomes mobile, relational, and decentered?